


Ameliorate

by Soikia



Series: Athanasia [2]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, Polyamory, Prologue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 11:31:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15218234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soikia/pseuds/Soikia
Summary: Being a vampire can mean a lot of things.One of those things usually means that they end up being well versed travelers. Nomads, travelers, somewhere in between. He thinks that being a vampire means having more time to heal, enough to leave him okay with having consecutive bad days. It all helps; jumping from city to city, country to country. He's got a long time to heal from qualms and things out of his control. He's happy to know that pretty scenery makes the bad days more tolerable and the good days beautiful.So maybe he's appreciating being a vampire for once - which is character development in itself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello~
> 
> So. Several things. Lets hop into it.
> 
> \- Heartbeats is not getting updated this month. My personal life is a bit hectic at the moment, so I rarely have time to properly write a full fledged chapter. So instead this is taking the place of what would usually be posted.  
> \- This is the prologue to the main fic that will be posted as Heartbeats comes to an end! Once the main fic gets posted, I'll collect all the fics within that universe and put them in the same series.  
> \- The vamp ot5 fic, P.O.M, has been completely re-written from the ground up. This includes what you're about to read! I just wasn't very happy with the direction it was going.  
> \- The second chapter will be posted today in a few hours! It's still being edited as of right now, but I'm probably going to eat before it gets posted OTL  
> \- Note that it does say OT5, but in the second chapter you'll see that Yuchan isn't necessarily in the relationship yet - but they're close! I felt bad about leaving him out of the main relationship tag for this fic so he gets included in (especially since you know that he's with them if you've read Fragmented Athanasia)
> 
> Please enjoy!

**Padua, Italy. 2000.**

He tightens the robe around himself, pretending to be more affected by the chill of the night than he really is. It’s one of those nights where he wishes he could still feel the cold sting of air when he sucks in a breath. Now it merely reflects the feeling of touching cold metal that was warming in the sun.

His dreams had shaken his awake, far too early for his taste. Padua is still alive and awake under their balcony, bustling cars and people, music from neighbors reaching his ears. The sun has barely dipped down for the night.

The city breathes and lives. Junhee grips the balcony rail tightly and doesn’t breathe. Doesn’t need to. 

The city lives. He does not.

He wishes that dreams would not put him in such petulant moods, but here he is. 

Junhee particularly doesn’t care much for Italy. He did at one point. But it’s grown lackluster to him. Much like Auckland did. Much like Pisa did. He had wanted to go live in Greece but Sehyoon and Donghun had said no. Donghun got a work transfer to Padua from Pisa and, depressingly, it was the smartest decision. The people of Pisa were starting to talk anyway.

Padua is their last stop before they move out of the country. They’ve been here in Italy for five years and he can arguably tolerate three more. It wouldn’t be hard to bounce around to a few other cities but -

He’s tired.

He wants a place that he can settle down in, a permanent home that they can come back to after traveling. The other two get that and promised they’d settle down when it’s convenient.

He just -

He just wants -

God dammit, he’s shaking. He can see the way his hands tremble against the rail. This isn’t right - he’s supposed to be the leader now. He can’t get worked up over stupid shit like this.

A pair of arms wraps around his waist from behind, gently swaying to the neighbors radio. He of course can’t help but sway along, one hand moving to gently rest atop of where the others are clasped.

“Good evening, babe.” A husky voice says, rough from sleep. 

“Mm.”

“A lot on your mind so early in the evening.” The other whispers. “It’s all static up there. Bad enough to wake me up.”

Junhee’s face twists into a deeper frown.

“I’m sorry.” He says softly. “For waking you.”

“Don’t apologize for stuff like that.” He hums. “Have peace knowing that you didn’t wake Donghun up.”

“Mm. It’s his day off, he does deserve the sleep.” He says. “Did you sleep well, Sehyoon?”

“Like the dead.” Sehyoon chuckles morbidly, humming and nestling himself against Junhee’s neck. “Can never complain about having no dreams.”

He supposes he can’t. Truly it is something to be admired - vampires truly don’t dream that often. There’s always that bullshit that people just don’t remember their dreams but vampires either have the most vivid dreams or none at all. It can’t be explained - or at least it’s not important enough to explain. There are more pressing matters like not getting slaughtered in their sleep.

Sadly, he dreams vividly. 

They just keep swaying to the faint music. Junhee wonders if it’s perhaps the neighbors date night - they’re an elderly couple that have the cutest matching outfits. Surely they probably have a vague date night every so often.

Sehyoon hums close to his ear, pressing a soft kiss to his neck.

“What time did you wake up, babe?” Sehyoon asks softly. 

“Six or seven. I dunno.” He shrugs a little, swiping his thumb over the ridge of the other’s knuckles.

“That’s well before the sun set.” Sehyoon says. Hah. He can practically hear the frown. “If you woke me up I would’ve been more than willing to help you go back to sleep again.”

“I know.” Lord, he knows. Those two would tear the universe in half for him if they had the ability to. “But you looked peaceful and I couldn’t get comfortable.”

A small sigh.

“I know that the bed is kind of cramped for three people.” Sehyoon hums, halting the sway of their hips in favor of tapping his fingers again his stomach. “But we’ll move and get a nice house with separate bedrooms and big beds because I know we’ll more often than not end up in the same bed.”

He chuckles softly at the image, the first bright thought he’s had that evening.

“And you can have your garden and start up a restaurant and we’ll help you.” Sehyoon continues. “Because I know that out of everything you just want to live in the cozy suburbs.”

“Mhm.” He murmurs quietly, tilting his head back to rest against Sehyoon. 

They remain silent for a bit, simply standing and watching Padua live under them. It makes him feel a bit bitter - he’s already explored most of Padua. There’s nothing interesting left for him. But observing the people is fun. There's always new people among the common-goers under their balcony.

“I know something that will cheer you up.”

“Hm?”

“Byeongkwan’s visiting today, remember?” Sehyoon asks with a soft breath, pressing a kiss to the exposed sliver of skin from where his robe has slipped. 

Oh.

“Is it already Tuesday? I could’ve swore it was only Saturday.” He says, blinking down at the sidewalk beneath them. That would explain why there's less people than a weekend might have.

Sehyoon snorts, loosening his grip.

“Yep, it’s Tuesday. He’s coming down from Trento and plans to stay until Friday.” Sehyoon reminds him pleasantly. “It’ll be nice. He misses you.”

He misses him too.

They’ve known each other since they crossed paths in Modena when they first arrived in Italy. Byeongkwan had been working as a janitor in the hotel they holed themselves up in before moving to Pisa. He had been one of the few vampires on the staff and, well, there was mutual excitement to see their own kind. Especially after their previous places of residence had been less than accommodating to their kind, so they were more than happy to at least see one vampire on staff. Sehyoon kind of stuck to him quickly. As a result, they all did.

They ended up keeping in touch for the better part of two years until Sehyoon worked up the courage to sit him and Donghun down to talk about adding Byeongkwan into the mix. Junhee remembers that he had been a little cautious about it - Byeongkwan didn’t interact with him as much except for the odd visit down in Pisa. But he did like him and found him to be cute and was, ultimately, attracted to him.

Donghun more or less felt the same way.

They hadn’t been opposed to it. Just cautious.

Sehyoon was respectful enough to bide his time and actually let Byeongkwan hang out with them for a few more months at longer intervals. It clicked with Donghun after his second visit but it took until the fifth time that he stayed for Junhee to feel truly settled with him.

It’s so strange to think that they sat Byeongkwan down to talk about joining their relationship only ten months ago. It feels like he’s been a part of them for a while now. And arguably he has.

Byeongkwan ended up quitting work in Modena to move to be with his ailing maker in Trento, which worked out for them since Trento is much closer to Padua than Modena was.

In truth, Junhee still doesn’t know how happy his maker is about him joining a relationship. There’s been a few instances where he thinks that he might be very unhappy about the whole thing. Not like he'll ever show it in front of Byeongkwan, of course, but he's seen the grimaces over the other's shoulder.

But no one can stop Byeongkwan from doing what he wants - not even the person responsible for raising him from the dead. Hell, they had tried convincing him to come down last Friday and stay the whole week but he was already set in his ways to come today. 

“What time will he be here?” He asks.

“Probably a bit after eleven? He called when he was about forty minutes into the trip.” Sehyoon shrugs. “Come inside and wait for him. Take a nap.”

“I want to see Padua go to bed.”

“Babe.”

“Just. Let me stay out until the lamps are completely on.” He bites out, a bit more spitefully then he attends. Then he scrunches up his shoulders and looks back down to the sidewalk. “Then I’ll come in.”

Sehyoon just hums quietly, stepping back to look over the side with him.

“Padua will always be living, Junhee.” He comments quietly. “No matter if it changes it’s name or all the people move out of it. It will always be alive in ways that we aren’t.” 

“I know that.” He says. “I know that it’s living and that I’m not.”

Sehyoon pulls a face that he doesn’t quite feel like distinguishing. Instead he just sighs quietly, leaning against the other and moving to observe the stars.

“I just woke up in a bad mood.” He murmurs. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Sehyoon replies, gently moving to press a kiss to the crown of his head. “We all have those days, you are no exception.”

“I’ll - I’ll come inside -“

“No.” He says. “Take in the view, Junhee. Watch Padua go to bed, okay? If that’s what it’ll take to get the weight off your soul, do it. Padua will sleep and we will be awake.”

“Is Padua ever truly asleep with us in it?”

“Perhaps we are what the city dreams of.”

He lets out a half laugh.

“Must be some terrible dreams.”

“I think we’re rather lovely, actually.” Sehyoon jokes, nudging him. “I do have to go inside to wake our lovely boyfriend up and tidy the place for Byeongkwan, though.”

“He hardly needs things tidied.”

“It’s to set a good impression.” He says with a click of his tongue. “And I think a clean apartment will do wonders for you when you come inside.”

He doesn’t have a response to that other than a soft breath. Then there’s the soft feeling of a kiss - barely there against his cheek. Before he can even register it, the sliding door into their apartment is clicking shut.

Padua is quieter below him. Late night dinner dates, work shifts, romantic rendezvous - they are all out still. Sleepy. But out.

This place, he thinks, would have human Junhee floored. 

Instead all he can hear is an incessant, annoying collective group of heartbeats from whoever passed under their balcony.

Annoying.

Padua was annoying.

And yet somehow he easily spends too much time out here observing it. Time easily slips his mind - the city has long been quiet save for the animals. Their balcony light is the only one still clicked on and when he glances to the other balconies, he sees tightly drawn curtains.

He wonders how many of their neighbors genuinely know that they’re vampires. Probably a few of them, at least. As long as he doesn’t wake up to one of his boyfriend’s stabbed with a rod of blessed metal, he’ll leave the neighbors be.

Time passes a lot quicker than he wants to believe it does. At some point he gets carried away by the fun journey of night life. The commonly spotted pedestrian turned into the commonly spotted drunkard, commonly spotted escort. The lamp lights went from basic glow to fully lit. There was a chill in the air, a light breeze laying across his skin comfortably. 

The sound of the door sliding open startles him and he turns, fully expecting Sehyoon or maybe Donghun.

But instead he sees vibrant shock of orange.

“Kwan?”

“Darling.” Byeongkwan greets quietly, voice bright as Junhee scrunches his nose. Darling is such an odd pet name. It doesn't sit right on the tongue, yet Byeongkwan insists that he uses it. He'd hate it if it were some random stranger saying it - but Byeongkwan makes it sound okay. Byeongkwan just chuckles, sliding the door shut behind him and approaching. “Sehyoon said you were out here.”

“Have you been here long?”

“About..twenty minutes?” The other guesses. “The others were humoring me, but I wanted to come see you.”

Junhee just presses his lips into a thin line.

“I’m sorry. I was supposed to be inside hours ago.” He says. It’s the truth - he should’ve been in at least an hour ago. Dammit, Junhee.

The other just shrugs as if it’s no big deal. Perhaps it isn’t.

“Your hair is new.” He comments after silence has stretched too long. “When -?”

“My maker kept calling me the wrong name, so I dyed it so he’d have a way to remember me.”

A small snort. Byeongkwan just eyes him for a moment and he must be showing some form of distaste. 

“He’s sick, Junhee. It’s not entirely his fault.” Byeongkwan reminds him gently. “He may be a bit..stubborn. But he’s not all that he once was.”

From what he’s heard, Byeongkwan’s maker was nothing better than a half chewed stick of gum in his eyes. But he digresses. The younger obviously has a lot of respect for his maker and Junhee is perhaps a bit jaded about anyone over the age of three hundred.

“Is he doing any better?” He asks as an attempt to sound - well - concerned. Because he is. Because it directly involves Byeongkwan. That's his extent of caring.

“Somewhat.” He says. “The doctors think he’ll live. He might be a little worse for wear but ultimately alive.”

“Mm.” He mumbles idly. He really does not like hearing the word alive today, it seems. “That’s good to hear. No one deserves to be sick.”

A shrug.

“Doesn’t change the fact that he’s a bit of a shit head, I suppose.” Byeongkwan says, scuffing his feet against the cement floor. “I think human you would’ve spit in his eye.”

“I think I still would spit in his eye if he wasn’t so...” He pauses, trying to find the word. “Defenseless. I’m sure he’s admirable in some regard, but his views about how relationships should work are..mm.”

“You can say toxic, it’s okay.”

“Toxic.”

“There we go.” Byeongkwan says. 

His maker was steadfast in traditions. Not enough to want to marry Byeongkwan off to some influential fucker who sips A Negative like it’s chardonnay, no. More like he was going to pigeon hole Byeongkwan into a relationship just because he wanted to make sure that he impressed the leader of the coven.

Annoying. 

So yeah. Toxic. Seeing as he all but sniffed at Junhee when they first met. 

Asshole. 

“Poor mood, I’m assuming?” Byeongkwan says as a way to transition the conversation. When all he does is shoot the other a look, Byeongkwan gestures to the balcony. “Sehyoon says this is where you go when you’re feeling piss poor.”

“Piss poor? Is that how he describes it?"

“Yes.”

Junhee can’t help but chuckle at that, nervously fussing with the sash on his robe. Byeongkwan’s eyes just seem to light up at the slight notion of laughter, finally closing the gap between them.

Byeongkwan tugs him closer by the sash loops on his robe, seemingly content with rest his arms around his middle and rocking them side to side in tandem. Despite there being no music this time around, it's still just as soothing.

“This has been a common theme today.” He murmurs gently, tilting his head down to peck a kiss against Byeongkwan’s cheek. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“If the balcony was bigger I’d be slow dancing with you.” Byeongkwan confesses. All Junhee can do is laugh softly and nuzzle the side of his head. “Sehyoon was saying that you were having a rough morning.”

“Just woke up a bit cranky, that’s all.”

“You? Cranky? Scary thought.” Byeongkwan says with a joking shiver, sobering up after a moment. “What caused it?”

Junhee thinks for a few minutes, letting himself get rocked slowly. He knows what caused it - but is it really worth bringing it up?

Unlike Sehyoon, Byeongkwan will snoop around to try and figure it out. Mostly out of concern for Junhee as opposed to not being able to mind his own business. So he just sighs, wraps his arms around his neck and rests his forehead against Byeongkwan’s.

“Bad dreams. Nothing more.” He says gently. 

“With your dreams, there’s always something more.” He replies. “We don’t have to talk about them, but don’t brush them off as if they’re nothing important.”

Junhee hates that he uses common sense. He really, truly, hates it. Byeongkwan has always been really good with common sense. Usually. Though he’s heard stories of some of the dumb shit he used to do. Dumb shit he still wants to do.

Still, the other is attentive to actions and moods, so he shouldn’t have expected to get away with saying it was no big deal.

“It was just the usual dreams.” He finally admits. No use trying to skirt around it, seeing as Byeongkwan would probably bring it up later. “Me, y’know -”

The other sighs as if to cut him off, gently pushing him back by his shoulders to rest him against the railing. 

“You can’t let those dreams get to you.”

“I know.”

“You couldn’t have changed anything.”

“You don’t know that, though.” He states, staring down at the space between them. “I don’t even know if I could have.”

“Then don’t stress yourself out over it.”

He wishes it could be that easy. Wishes that he could just shake his mind free from it but he can’t. Not yet, anyway. He’d like to be able to do that one day. But he has a feeling that it is going to be a long time before he even gets close to being able to push dreams away.

“Or is there something else also bothering you?” Byeongkwan asks softly, glancing up at him before settling his gaze on the skyline.

Junhee fidgets, unsettled. Not because of the question, but the fact that he’s so easy to read.

“It’s just...” He trails off. “Padua is breathing and alive. And I’m here. I’m - I’m alive, I guess. But not like them. Not like the people who walk on the sidewalk below this balcony.”

Byeongkwan drifts his gaze back over to him, probably trying to read his face. All he can do is duck his head down to avoid the interaction. The other makes a low clicking noise, squeezing his biceps lightly to get him to look up.

“Padua is breathing and alive below us.” The shorter supplies thoughtfully. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“You’re living too.” Byeongkwan smiles. “A bit differently than they are, sure. But you’re living all the same.”

Junhee has tried to look at it from that perspective - and most days he can. There must be a disbelieving look on his face, judging by how Byeongkwan cups his face in his hands.

“You’re alive in your own way, Junhee.” He assures. “And you’re much more alive than half the vampires I’ve met.”

He blinks. Then sighs and slumps his shoulders.

“I know you’re having a rough day.” The other continues. “But I want you to remember that you’re the one that insists that we _breathe_ to remember what we once were. No one that I’ve met has even mentioned that.”

“Then they’re dumb.”

Byeongkwan chuckles, a soft little sound in the back of his throat. 

“We’re all just coping in our own way. Mortality is a hard thing to lose.” He continues. “And oftentimes morality goes with it. But the four of us all have something in common.”

“Oh?”

“We refuse to completely lose our morality.” He says with a grin. “We may be dead, sure. But at least we can still be polite.”

Junhee just can’t help but snort at that. 

“When did you get so damn philosophical?” He asks quietly, moving to grab at the other’s wrists. Byeongkwan just smiles and taps his fingers along his cheek bones. He scrunches his face at the contact and decidedly pulls his hands away from his face. Byeongkwan takes the hint and instead settles his hands on his side.

“It was shortly before we were dating.” He says. “It has been my fourth time visiting and Donghun had said that you were having a bad day.” 

Ah. He remembers that.

“I came by and it was just Donghun and Sehyoon for a bit. I didn’t really want to pry but I had noticed that they were kind of tag teaming between spending time with me and disappearing into the bedroom.” Byeongkwan continues. “Then when you did come out with Donghun he just. I don’t know. He held you close to him as if you’d shatter.”

Mm. 

“And you just looked like you were ready to fizzle out of existence. But you were pleasant and made conversation with me all the same. I felt bad because I couldn’t figure out how to cheer you up.” He says softly. “So I kind of - gave myself a reality check? I guess. Read introspective magazine snippets on how to talk to people.”

That sends Junhee into a small fit of laughter, face twisting into a smile. The idea of Byeongkwan bending over some bubble lettered magazine help column was a damn hilarious sight. And an adorable one. But hilarious.

“My god.” He chokes out, swallowing back a laugh. “You’re really something else.”

“I mean, that’s why you’re dating me.” Byeongkwan replies dramatically. “But in all seriousness, I’m glad I started reading up on that stuff. Because now I can actually talk to you about what you’re feeling without feeling completely lost at sea.”

It’s touching, in that regard. Because it wasn’t like Byeongkwan was careless about his appearance or morality back when they first met. He especially wasn’t like that when they started hanging out more often. But still he decided to go through with reading everything that he could to study up on it.

“I appreciate that, you know.” He says after a moment, glancing up at the sky. “That you guys take the time for me.”

“Like I said. We all cope differently.” Byeongkwan hums. “You can help a person. Or try to help a person. Or help them try to better themselves -”

“I get what you’re saying.” 

“Oh.” A small cough. “It’s just. I don’t want you to think that I’m going to try and fix everything like it’s okay and that it never happened. But I want you to know that I’m here to help make everything easier, at least. As long as you want me to.”

Junhee looks back down at him, observing his facial features. The stupid hair that somehow fits him. He supposes that Byeongkwan is genuinely too good of a person. 

“I appreciate that, Byeongkwan.” He says, licking his lips. “And I appreciate that you’re patient with me.”

“You deserve all the patience in the world.” Byeongkwan states in a succinct tone. “You always will.”

He always will. 

That settles something in his chest - calms him down more than anything else has. The dreams still linger, his mind isn’t completely ready to move on from them. But - But Byeongkwan will be patient with him. Donghun and Sehyoon will be patient with him. He needs that more than anything. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be more patient with himself.

No one is asking him to heal right this moment, so he should stop trying to force himself to. He sucks in a breath, lingering longer than a human can before exhaling.

“Let’s go inside, Byeongkwan.” He says after a minute or two. “I got to say good evening to Donghun and it’s probably easier to catch up with all of us in the same room.” 

The other grins brightly at the words, saying nothing more and nodding. Junhee makes it a point to mention that Byeongkwan should go in first since he drove all the way out here. He should kick back and relax. Byeongkwan just nods again, somehow softer this time before walking over to slide the door open.

He can see him disappear into the room through the warped glass.

Another breath as he glances up at the sky one last time. He rubs his hands together, wringing them much like a nervous kid trying to lie their way out of something they did.

Exhale.

And then he’s pushing himself up to clear the distance, gripping the handle. He's happy to note that his hands aren't shaking anymore - he doesn't even realize when they stopped. 

Tonight started off rough but right now - right now he’s feeling light. And that’s better than nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two is majorly self indulgent I apologize.
> 
> You'll notice that through out both chapters there are some vague things here and there! That's because they serve a point in the main fic and, well, I'd rather not spoil them now. But overall I'm pretty pleased with these chapters! :)
> 
> And I apologize to anyone who was hoping that the AU would be more action packed..I just wanted something more domestic, there will be plenty of tense moments in the actual fic, after all.

**Toronto, Canada. 2010.**

There’s something therapeutic about checking books in and out of the system. The soft beeping as the book gets read by the computer, the sound of him setting it down in the metal cart by the desk. It’s also fun to wheel carts of books back into the aisle ways and put them in their proper places. It might be lame to some but -

He’s learning to appreciate the little things.

Junhee has only had this job for all of two years while they’ve been settled in Toronto for four. But this library was one of the few that was willing to put a vampire on staff. Which is nice, compared to how his job in Padua fired him when he got cornered into explaining why he couldn’t take a day shift. At least here he was getting a decent wage and was able to be completely open with his boss.

The only downside is that sometimes he needs a step stool for the higher shelves. Mainly because he doesn’t trust himself on the gliding ladder on some of the wall shelf displays. That’s just an easy way to break his wrist or something.

It’s when he’s cataloguing the mature section - browsing some back covers with mild distaste - that he catches a familiar shape in his peripheral vision. But when he looks over, he can’t spot him within the aisles. If it’s who he thinks it is, he knows where to find him.

So he goes back to cramming the books into the shelf, continuously wondering why some of these titles have to be so needlessly raunchy. Maybe he could pitch the idea of having an adult only section.

He shudders.

There’s still other books in his cart as he wheels out of the aisle. Some encyclopedias, some nature journals, science related shenanigans. But for now he’s okay with making a casual bee-line to the cooking and culinary section. The wheels click every five or six steps, muffled by the carpet.

He turns in to go deeper into the aisles, flicking his gaze up to the little tabs that they’ve attached to the shelves. Fiction, sci-fi, fantasy - culinary.

To this day he still doesn’t quite understand the layout of this place.

Smiling, already knowing what to expect, he peeks down the culinary aisle before turning his cart down it. There, staring at the shelf crammed full of culinary expert dissertations, stands a young man. His hair is a weird ombre of dark brown and an off colored honey brown. Probably done by himself rather than a professional. He stands a little weirdly, one foot firmly planted on the ground while one is bent so sole of his shoe isn’t touching the ground. It looks uncomfortable. He’s staring intently at the third shelf, eyes scanning the row repeatedly.

“Hello, Chan.” He speaks softly, chuckling at the startled reaction. The other nearly stumbles over himself, a panicked look shot at Junhee. Whether it’s the fear of his greeting or the fear of falling, he’s not sure. “Professor assign a new book?”

“Byeongkwan said that you were _loud_.” Yuchan huffs dramatically, voice low. “Yet you’re still able to creep up on me without fail.”

“We’re in a library, of course I’m quiet.” He deadpans, grinning playfully.

Yuchan just sticks his tongue out, turning his attention back to the books.

Yuchan, freshman at George Brown College. They had really met by chance - Byeongkwan was running deliveries for a local take out joint and had to take food to Yuchan in his off campus apartment. After a while he had ended up delivering there several times to the point where they were on a first name basis with each other. 

Then it had somehow upgraded to a curious human coming home with his boyfriend one night. However he had been respectful, almost scarily polite before they told him that he could ease up. Above all, Yuchan seemed curious about the ‘whole vampire thing', so he never sees him as a threat. Plus despite the fact that Yuchan looks relatively strong, a vampire will always be stronger.

Yeah.

Not a threat unless he randomly snuck up on them.

“I’m looking for..” Yuchan pauses, glancing down at his palm. He takes notice of the scribbled ink on it, smeared from body heat. “Le Guide..Culinaire? By Georges Auguste Escoffier. Do you know it?”

Actually, yes. He read it a few years back. Perhaps it’s a bit weird, reading a recipe book from cover to cover, but it’s not like he can actually eat the food the book describes. It falls in the vein of him wanting to open a restaurant, though, so he had to get the knowledge somehow. He was a terrible cook when he was living. He saw learning how to cook as a way to reinvent himself.

“I’m assuming you need the english version?” He asks with a soft huff, pushing his cart off to the side to stand by the other. “Cause if so, you’re looking in the wrong spot.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Yuchan admits. “English.”

“Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery. Released in 1983.” He states simply, reaching out to tilt the other’s chin up. “One shelf up from where you were looking.”

Yuchan makes an ‘o’ shape before breaking into a smile. He reaches up, plucking the book from the shelf carefully. Then he glances over the cover, smiling at the design.

“Quite an expensive book, you know?” Yuchan says, almost baffled. "I feel honored to hold this."

“Mm. Seen the english version sell for over hundreds of dollars.” He says. “The french one seems to go a bit cheaper.”

“Which version did you read?”

“English. I didn’t know the book existed until late two thousand and one.”

“But if it was released in ninety eighty three, wouldn’t you have been around to hear about it?”

He laughs at that, the first note being sharp before quickly softening his voice. Right. Library. 

“I had more pressing angst to deal with then whether a chef’s ramblings got translated or not.” He chuckles. “Besides, I didn’t even really get into cooking until the early nineties.”

Yuchan huffs out a soft breath.

“You make it sound like it was just a few years ago.”

“To me it feels much shorter than it probably does to you.” He admits, rocking back onto the balls of his feet. 

The other just makes a soft noise, tucking the book under his arm before glancing back his way. He can vaguely feel the others gaze on his skin, hair prickling at the sensation of being watched. As soon as turns his head, though, Yuchan is looking back at the shelf with a somewhat straight face.

“What’s up?”

Yuchan blinks once, twice, looks back over at him.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that I haven’t seen you guys lately. Only Byeongkwan.”

Ah. He nods, understanding. He's been kind of holing himself up lately, more focused on reading the complete set of adventure novels he had decidedly checked out last month.

“You should come over sometime.” He comments idly. “We can make you dinner.”

Now, there are many things that sound preposterous. He may not necessarily include cooking on that list. But that may be because he’s excited to cook. And cook with the other three.

And cook for someone who can actually eat it.

Yuchan seems to ponder this idea for a moment, eyeing him.

“You’d cook for me?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “It’s not like I have much else to do - I’m a shut in at the best of times.”

The other laughs, soft and gentle and very pleasing to his ears.

“You vampires are such peculiar things. I’m always off put with how domestic you guys are.” Yuhan says. “Not that it’s a bad thing, I’m just used to the mean and evil vampires on television -”

“That live in crypts and dungeons.”

“I’ve been to your place before. It’s a humble abode.” Chan defends. “I’m just curious to figure out how you guys -“ A few random hand gestures. “- function.”

Junhee quirks an eyebrow.

“Well - wait. I mean like -“ He scrambles to find the words. “I know what you feed off of. And that you don’t eat human food. You can’t walk out in the sunlight.”

“Mhm?”

“But like - you’re domestic. You just offered to cook for me. Don’t you guys hunt? I’ve heard you hunt in packs. Kind of like wolves?”

He snorts and forces back a laugh.

“Most city populations rely heavily on feeding parlors and blood banks, actually.” Junhee clarifies. “The ones that hunt usually are not close a city and have to rely on small towns. And no, hunting in ‘packs’ would just make us look suspicious.” 

“Oh..” It’s easy to tell that Yuchan is still thinking. “Is it true that half turned vampires exist?”

“Where the hell did you hear about that?”

“A movie I saw with my friends last night.” Yuchan pouts, tapping along the wood of the shelf. “The lead was half vampire because her maker didn’t drain her all the way.”

He wrinkles his nose. Vampire movies these days.

“Well. A half turned vampire would exist for a short time, I suppose. And it wouldn’t be because they weren’t drained, it’d be because the toxin wasn’t properly injected.” He says.

“Wait -“ Yuchan gets this excited look in his eyes, perking up slightly. “- you guys have toxin in your _spit_? That's so cool.”

“You’ve been talking to Byeongkwan for eight months, I feel like he would’ve rambled about this.” He sighs out. “But yes, we do.” 

“Is that why you don’t bite people? It’ll accidentally turn them because of the toxin?”

“Well, the toxin can feel good on feeders, numbs the pain.” Junhee shrugs. “It’s just that we don’t instinctively release that much when feeding.”

Yuchan makes a little ‘ah’ noise. He seems to be committing this information to memory. It’s nice to be able to talk openly about this - not have to worry about being stalked by hunters. The neighborhood committee had passed a rule that hunters weren’t allowed to harass a vampire without probable cause.

He felt free.

“But since you mentioned cooking for me.” Yuchan starts after a moment. “Byeongkwan mentioned that you wanted to open a restaurant.”

Now nothing perks him up more than the restaurant talk. He’s had it for as long as he’s had an interest in cooking. Hell, there’s a notebook in their shared nightstand that is crammed full of restaurant concepts.

Junhee wants something both family friendly and ritzy. 

“Yes.” He says. “Yes I do - it’ll be lovely when it happens.” He continues, sighing softly at the thought. “Got to keep saving money up though.”

“Don’t you also need a ton of permits to legally run a restaurant?” Yuchan asks, finally turning away from the bookshelf to give him all of his attention.

“Well..I have time to get all of that.” He shrugs. “Plus we need to be somewhere permanent before I even think of opening a business.”

Yuchan’s expression twitches at the last part, neutral face dipping into a frown.

“You’re not going to live here forever?” He asks and, well, he sounds somewhat sad about it. Junhee feels bad for nodding in confirmation, the other frowning even more.

“I’m afraid not, Yuchan.” He says gently. “We want..we want a house to call our own. In a neighborhood that we feel one hundred percent safe in.”

“And that place isn’t here.”

“No. No it isn’t.”

Shoulders slumping, Yuchan takes on the look of a sad puppy for all of two seconds. Then he’s peeking at Junhee, perhaps reading his expression before straightening himself up.

“You’ll still be here for a few years, right?”

“Right.

“Then I’ll make the most of it.” Yuchan nods. “I’ll visit more often and you can cook me all these recipes you want to put on your restaurant menu. Then I can teach you some more modern day things. Like..the concept of cable television.”

He does like the sound of that. Plus, despite not really knowing the younger man, Yuchan’s happiness is a thing to be treasured. Byeongkwan seems especially close with him. Sehyoon and Donghun both seem to have soft spots for him as well - Donghun’s is more apparent. It’s somewhat adorable, really.

Junhee hums in amusement, nodding at the thought.

"Perhaps you could teach Sehyoon how email works." Junhee suggests. "He still clicks on popup advertisements."

Yuchan lets out a sigh, eyes rolling. The poor guy had to sit through all of them trying to learn how to use more modern technology. It was a whole process - mainly because none of them actively used it before they got to Toronto. This was the first time they were buying cellphones and not relying on landlines. Junhee had purchased his first computer and Yuchan happily sat down with him to help him install a virus scanner. They even paid him since they took up so much of his time.

"Of course he does." Yuchan says. "I bet you have too." 

Junhee raises his hands in mild defense. So what if he clicked _one_ spam email? It's not like he's clicking on random pop ups all willy-nilly. 

"But it gives me a reason to spend time with you." He continues after a moment. "So I'm fine with helping you guys figure out modern day technology. If you make me a good dessert too." 

"And why do you deserve dessert?" 

"Uh..because I'm me?" Yuchan says, blunt. "Like - hello? How could you say no to this?" And then he's pulling a stupid face, as if trying to give him a puppy-eyed look. He doesn't appreciate this tactic, doesn't appreciate how he's already cycling through the desserts Yuchan has casually dropped in the past. 

"Fine." He gives in, shaking his head. "You'll get dessert too."

Yuchan just makes an exaggerated fist pumping motion, moving so fast that his arm whooshes in the air.

Yuchan is excitable. Some people may confuse this with being childish, but he really isn’t. He’s just excited about the world around him. Curious about it too. That’s the kind of stuff that should be admired in life. Respected, too.

Of course if he were to tell Yuchan that, he’d get looked at weirdly. Or maybe he wouldn’t. He still doesn’t know him as well as he wished. But he seems genuine.

Yuchan clicks his tongue, making a decisive noise.

“Then when you open up that restaurant, I’ll go to where it is and visit.” He grins. “I’ll boast about how I got to eat your cooking before anyone else did; I’ll really ham it up for you. As long as you let me have all my meals free of charge, because I'll just keep perfecting my little adorable act to try and sucker you into it.” Junhee knows he's joking about the last bit, or at least hopes that he's joking. It's hard to tell with him sometimes.

But yeah he imagines that he would ham it up. He’s seen the man sing praises over noodles cooked in a styrofoam cup. Which sounds gross to Junhee but apparently it’s a cheap meal that Yuchan lives off of when one of his classes isn't having a potluck. He never recalled having to worry about the cost of food much when he was a human - but then again he didn’t live when colleges and universities were trying to bleed you completely dry.

Plus he never went to college. So.

They talk softly for a bit longer afterwards, discussing the finer points of college, the low points of owning apartments. Junhee continues to insist that Yuchan should try to find a better job - customer service sounds grueling at best and miserable in any other circumstance. Yuchan just insists that it's fine because no one can get mad at him when he's on the job.

When their conversation dwindles, the soft voices from other conversations pricking on his ears, he realizes how late it is. Not for him, no, this is his version of mid-day. But for the sleepy humans in the library.

They’re close to a college, close enough to where the library found it beneficial to have a night staff. 

But he flicks his wrist to look at his watch, reads one in the morning, and looks up at Yuchan quizzically.

“You came rather late to get a book, you know?”

“Perhaps there was a certain member of staff I wished to see.” Yuchan says simply. “And I got to see him.”

Oh.

Cheesy.

He is no stranger to Yuchan’s antics. He’s pulled similar comments out for as long as he has known the other. Usually Byeongkwan was the target. Byeongkwan was an easy target, half the time.

But recently he and the others have been shuffled into the mix. The others smile is so wide that one would think he just released a best selling novel. If he weren’t a friend of his, he would’ve scoffed at it. Instead he just playfully rolls his eyes. There's more to dig in and think about with these comments, but that can wait.

“So you came in this late to see me? No wonder why you have bags under your eyes.” He jokes lightly. “But seriously. You should go home and go to bed.”

“Probably.” He muses in response. “But my neighbors have been loud recently. As in..” A few vague yet somehow suggestive hand gestures. “You know?”

“Ah.” He frowns. “Bang on the wall to shut them up.”

“But that’s rude. And also a lot of work and it's easier to just put in my headphones.”

“But they started it.”

Yuchan stalls, mouth open to fire back. Then he closes it, blinks a few times and nods. It seems like he’s on board with the idea. Then he’s back to grinning that same, overly wide grin. Junhee thinks that he could maybe, maybe get used to seeing that smile more often. 

“What are some of your favorite foods? Just so I know what I need to buy before you come over.” He asks, watching as Yuchan ponders the question and then shrugs. “There has to be something you like.”

“I don’t want you to cater to me, I want you to make some delicious food that way I can find more reasons to come over.” Yuchan says.

“You don’t need reasons to come over, you know?”

“Oh?”

“Well..” A pause. “Yeah? You’re our friend, so...it’d make sense if you’d want to hang out.”

Yuchan stares at him and then lets out a befuddled noise.

“Domestic.” He repeats. “So domestic.”

“I prefer friendly.”

“Friendly and domestic, then.” Yuchan says succinctly before finally rolling his shoulders. “I should really get going, though. My bed is calling me.”

He tries not to feel too disappointed by that - because he is a human, after all. Humans run on different clocks than they do. So his reasonable side understands that Yuchan has to go. His talkative, sociable side, however, wants to try and find a way to keep the other here a little longer. 

The reasonable side wins.

“Alright.” He says, though he makes it obvious that it’s a sad event by putting on a frown. “Are you walking, or?”

“I have my bike with me tonight.” Yuchan says. Then he looks at his frown, reaching out and tapping his nose until he breaks into a soft huff. “No frowning, your face will stay that way, you know?”

“Maybe that’s what I want.”

“Someone as smiley as you? Doubt it.” He replies breezily.

A thought passes by - a question really. What would Yuchan say if he knew that he used to be rather pessimistic? Probably wouldn’t believe him, huh? Only those who saw that side of him really believed it.

He thinks that he’s doing better now. Some days are rough, but - he’s okay.

Not perfect, but okay.

“Well.” He coughs, moving to shove his hands into his slacks. “Go check out your book and get home. Message Byeongkwan when you do, okay?”

“Worried about me?”

“I’ll always worry. There’s a lot of creepy things that come out at night.”

“I think you’d count as a creepy thing.” Yuchan says with a hint of finality. “But you’re a nice creepy thing. So. I’ll text him.” He concludes shortly, moving to pat his shoulder. “Maybe I’ll see you when I have to return this book.”

Maybe.

Maybe he’ll be willing to take this specific night shift just so Yuchan will see him. Now that’s something he definitely didn’t expect to be willing to do. Take on more work.

Yuchan leaves after a small wave goodbye and Junhee is suddenly aware that he’s now standing awkwardly in the culinary aisle. He flashes a look at the shelf, the small gap from where the book once was now letting the overfilled shelf breathe a bit. He’s not one that sympathizes with inanimate objects, but he does feel bad for how tattered some of the books look.

Just another thing he can bring up to his manager.

He wheels the cart back out of the aisle and picks up where he left off. Though now he’s focused on the catalogue of recipes in his head. Does Yuchan like spicy food? Maybe he’ll ask Byeongkwan. He is, after all, the one who delivered Yuchan’s order often enough that they became friends. 

Being preoccupied with thoughts makes the repetitive task of shelving books a lot easier. 

He’s already got a recipe planned by the time he’s back at the counter, burning his last half hour away by checking in the few books that were returned while he was catching up with Yuchan. They’re all boring or a picture book. He reads the picture book and wonders if maybe someone brought their kid in at this hour. If it wasn’t a kid he - well. He won’t judge. Sometimes it’s just nice to look at pictures.

The library is mostly empty, save for the few souls who seem to be tapping away on the library computers. The person clocking in to take over is the one that will be closing the doors at four - it’s not unreasonable to think that maybe they’ll have an empty space by the time they lock the door and go home.

His phone buzzes in his slacks around the same time that he's fighting with a stack of flyers that he's printing out for the morning crew. That's their job, not his. He'll just print them when it's nearly empty in the library. So of course whoever is messaging his will have to wait because, well, he doesn't want to drop this pile.

Junhee does pick up the pace, though. He only has six contacts in his phone - so really it's fairly easy to guess who's up right now or available to talk. He sets the stack down on a table in the break room, wiping his hands together and calling it a job well done. Then he's reaching into his pocket, grasping the phone and looking down at it curiously.

 **(2:14 AM) Donghun:**  
_you on your way home soon, babe?_

He smiles fondly at the message. It had been hard to convince the other to come to terms with texting. Byeongkwan had been the one with the most knowledge on it at the time - but Yuchan has helped them with the most recent technology.

This world is far different from the one he lived in.

 **(2:26 AM) Junhee:**  
_Clocking off @ 2:30. Why?_

 **(2:27 AM) Donghun:**  
_heard about some hunters prowling around and I know you prefer walking but - consider a cab maybe?_

 **(2:28 AM) Junhee:**  
_what street though, hun?_

 **(2:30 AM) Donghun:**  
_I don’t know. Just know that i don’t want you accidentally bumping into one on the side walk..i’d like to have another body in this cuddle pile, you know?_

A soft snort as he swipes his keycard to clock out. So it is a cuddling kind of day.

When is it _not_ some kind of cuddling session?

 **(2:31 AM) Junhee:**  
_If i feel unsafe, I’ll try to find a cab. But for now I’ll walk, okay? A bit late for a cab anyway.._

He doesn’t get a response and he’s not sure if he was ever actually expecting one. Donghun gets fed up with texting easily and only calls when it’s something serious. Part of him wonders if Donghun still wishes that technology hadn’t advanced as far as it has.

The bell on the library door chimes as he steps out into the late night. Yuchan is home now, hopefully. Hopefully Byeongkwan will text him or just tell him when he gets home. Once again shoving his hands into his front pockets, he starts to walk.

Their apartment is not far from here - maybe a good ten blocks worth. Maybe that is far to a human. He’s not quite sure. A vampire’s stamina is much better than a human’s, so he’s just assuming that they’d think that ten blocks is far. He'll have to ask Yuchan that the next time they meet each other.

It’s when he’s on the third block that he hears the whistling noise. Piercing, wailing into the otherwise quiet night. The hunter’s association has always had an ugly alarm, no matter where they’ve lived. In Italy it sounded like a flock of dying birds. Here it’s like a somewhat subpar dog whistle - not meant to disturb the humans who may be sleeping. It is a warning.

There are hunters out tonight, perhaps chasing a vampire who truly deserves to die.

He picks up his pace, soles against dirty concrete. 

Perhaps, he repeats to himself, they’re after a vampire who truly deserves to die. Or perhaps they’re not. Perhaps it is them who will be the villains at the end of the night; ruining a coven of lovers, a coven of friends, a coven of family by taking someone away from them. Maybe they’ll kill a loner, who’s just a little lost at the moment, far from home and further from finding where they belong.

He keeps walking. He’ll ignore the hairs standing up on the back of his neck, keep his pace steady and his head straight.

Tonight he has a coven to go home to and - if God is merciful and up there in the high heavens - the ethereal being will let him get there in one piece.


End file.
